


Assuming Shape

by schneefink



Category: Young Avengers
Genre: Gen, Shapeshifting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-19
Updated: 2014-06-19
Packaged: 2018-02-05 08:57:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1812673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/schneefink/pseuds/schneefink
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sarah Altman lives on Earth for sixteen years.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Assuming Shape

**Author's Note:**

> I took some liberties with background histories/timing and Skrull technology/society.

They spend the first two weeks after they land on Earth on the ship. Ranex shows Dorrek footage from the database and later movies and TV shows; after a few days his skin becomes pink, but his features are still distinctly alien. When he's asleep Ranex goes out and robs passer-bys. It's not the example Anelle would have wanted her to set for her son, but it's necessary, she tells herself. It's just until they're settled in. 

She reads as much about human culture as she can, but it's confusing and strange to her. Eventually she settles on a human shape that she thinks is appropriate and picks a new name at random: Sarah Altman. It sounds nothing like her real one.

When Dorrek seems to have found a human shape they travel to New York. It's where the Avengers live, and she promised Anelle to bring the boy to his father. Mar-Vell will surely take care of his son, once he's back on Earth and Ranex can contact him. They won't have to wait long.

In the meantime she rents a room at a motel. A few nights of research and more stolen money gets them fake IDs. She's not prepared when she's asked what the kid's name should be and picks one of those suggested to her: Theodore. It's the one that sounds least like a Skrull name, for protection.

She still sings Dorrek Skrull lullabies at night. He loves them, and she doesn't want him to forget everything about his homeworld. After all he'll be heir to the empire one day. 

Maybe Anelle will even come back for him herself.

***

They move into a small apartment after a few months. Her husband died not that long ago, she explains to their neighbors, and now she just wants to take care of Teddy. They all promise to help if she needs it, which is useful.

Dorrek has settled in his shape and fortunately even seems to grow at more or less human speed. The neighbors love him and coo over him. After a month she even lets one of them hold him, hovering anxiously nearby the whole time. That's normal for young mothers, she is reassured. On a neighbor's recommendation she starts taking Dorrek to museums, eventually at least once a week. It's informative, and she decides that it's the kind of thing Sarah Altman enjoys.

She doesn't really have anything to do except take care of Dorrek. They get a bit of welfare money (a very useful human institution, she's found), and a few times a month she still goes out as someone bigger at night for some extra income. So far she's managed to avoid running into one of New York's super heroes, but she knows it can't last. She's thinking about getting a job, something where her limited knowledge about Earth won't be too apparent. 

Every day the first thing she does is read the newspapers: first the planetary and national news, then the advice and lifestyle columns, and then the job listings. She walks through the city with Dorrek in a stroller (a strange invention, carrying him on her back or chest seems much more convenient) and tries to find the best place to contact the Avengers when Mar-Vell comes back. She reads the superhero gossip pages and thinks about who to turn into to get quick access. It won't matter once she explains. 

She's in line in the grocery store, still trying to figure out human food and nutrition, when the news of Captain Marvel's death is broadcast.

Oh, she thinks, numb with shock. "Ba," Dorrek says happily and throws his toy ball across the aisle. She goes to pick it up. It's a strange thing, human tears. 

***

"Mom!" Teddy calls, and she shoves down the familiar pang she still feels every time he calls her that. She thought about telling him that he's adopted, telling him about his real mom, but in the end decided that it would be too complicated (not in the least because of the paperwork. She learned to hate paperwork very quickly.) She'll tell him the truth when Anelle comes to find them. They'll forgive her, she's sure.

"Look, Mom!" Teddy says again and proudly holds out a holograph projector.

"Teddy!" she exclaims and grabs it quickly.

He promptly bursts into tears.

"Oh no, I'm sorry, darling, I'm sorry," she says and hugs him, letting the projector fall to the floor. "I'm so sorry." He sniffles into her shoulder. "Why don't we go into the kitchen and have some hot chocolate, hm?" 

As soon as he's not paying attention anymore she hides the projector. Later that day she collects all Skrull items brought with them for convenience – Earth technology is very tiring sometimes – and resolves to put them back in the ship. It's too dangerous, and they don't need them. Even if Earth computers are laughably slow.

***

Teddy is a curious child. He's smart, too, and she's proud of that. But it doesn't exactly make things easy for her.

"Mom, why don't you have any pictures of dad?" 

"What were my grandparents like?"

"Did you have a pet when you were little?"

"Did you like spinach when you were a kid?"

"No, I didn't, honey," she says and smiles. "But I never tried it with cheese." It's even true, in a way: there are cabbages on her home planet that look similar to spinach, but she never liked them.

Lies work best when they're close to the truth. So in her stories her grandparents become human, the pet she secretly wanted was a cat, and a fire destroyed the pictures of her early life. 

She keeps a file with all the details she tells him. It grows very quickly. Sometimes she fills in details he hasn't asked about yet, just in case. It can't hurt to know more about who she's pretending to be.

***

It's Teddy's first day at school, and Sarah is nervous. It was the same in pre-school, and that turned out fine: Teddy got along well with the other kids and seemed to have fun. The first few months Sarah was constantly afraid that the teachers would want to talk to her and tell her that Teddy's behavior was strange, that he was different and didn't fit in, but it never happened. And he never shifted. By now Sarah is sure that as long as he believes that he's human he probably never will. It's for the best, really. He'll grow up a human boy, and so he needs a human education. 

"It's the same for all parents," Lisa says. Sarah met her at her new job. It's new for her, having a friend to talk whenever she wants to. She likes it. "Everyone's crazy protective the first few days. It'll pass."

"I don't think it will," Sarah confesses. It's her duty; more than that, he's her son. 

"Oh no, you're going to be one of those annoying moms who gets on the teachers' last nerves because she insists her kid is special," Lisa teases.

"He is," she says immediately, and Lisa laughs. "But I'll try my best not to be," Sarah promises. 

"He'll be embarrassed. Don't you remember how grown-up you felt when you started school?"

"Oh yes," Sarah says. She'll add it to her notes later.

***

"I don't want a birthday party," Teddy says, looking at the floor.

Sarah is taken aback. "Why not? I thought you like them! There'll be cake, and decorations, and games…" Skrulls don't celebrate birthdays, and she didn't think of it until Teddy started going to pre-school. But she adjusted quickly, and she was quite proud of the parties she organized. She thought the children, and more importantly Teddy, enjoyed them. She even learned how to bake, and by now her colleagues compliment her pies.

Teddy mumbles something. She asks him to repeat it; he finally lifts his head and says "I don't have anyone to invite."

"Oh," Sarah says, hesitantly. "I thought you get along fine with the other kids?"

"They think I'm boring," Teddy says, looking away again. "They all want to play sports all the time, or, or talk about girls, or watch TV… they all think I'm weird because I like to read and play cards and stuff."

"Oh honey," she says, gathering him into a hug. He squirms a bit, but relaxes quickly. 

She's done her best to make sure he never felt different because of his race; she forgot that humans are very good at creating differences among themselves. 

"You'll find friends who like to read and play cards too, I promise."

***

It was Lisa's idea. She was horrified to find out that Sarah had never dressed up for Halloween before and decided to fix it. So she invited their whole Pilates coffee group to a Halloween party, organized a trick or treating group for their children (Teddy was going as a cowboy), and told Sarah that there was no excuse.

That still doesn't explain why Sarah didn't choose a more conventional costume. She could have gone as a witch, or a nurse, or even a dragon. 

Instead she's going as, well, herself. Sarah – Ranex – looks at the mirror and frowns. It's been years since she wore this form, and it seems strangely… well, alien. She forgot to take out her earrings before shifting. They were a birthday present from her friends at the office, and she decides to leave them in. It's not like anyone will know that Skrulls usually don't wear earrings. 

She's wearing an outfit she made herself instead of getting her old uniform from the ship. Better not to risk it, and it's old and dusty anyway. By now Sarah checks on the ship only twice a year to check if any messages arrived. And after she got over the frustration over the impracticality, sewing her own costume and trying to make it as realistic as possible had been fun. 

She meets the others at the café. 

"You look amazing!" Melanie says, "wow, look at you! What a great face mask!"

Sarah thanks her and looks around: a witch, a wizard, a tigress, and Lisa is wearing a fantastic Wasp outfit. She fits right in. There's no need to be nervous, she tells herself when she catches herself watching her surroundings carefully. Everyone thinks it's just a costume. It's safe.

The next year she goes as Spider-Woman.

***

Teddy is acting strangely. 

"It's just a phase," Lisa says, "all teenagers go through something like that. Just let him be." 

The books and advice columns tell her the same thing, that human puberty is extremely confusing, but Sarah still worries. Teddy has become quieter, is smiling less often, and spends a lot more time in his room. She's tried asking him if he has any problems, at school or elsewhere, but he says he's fine. 

He can't have… No, he can't have shifted. There's been nothing to trigger it, how would he even get the idea? And even if, she would have noticed before he'd be able to control it. No, it really must be puberty. For a moment she wonders if it's a good or a bad thing that apparently his body is human enough to have hormone problems. The doctors never noticed anything either. 

It's not the first time she's felt far out of her depth, raising a human child. She's feeling uneasy, antsy, so she goes to check on their ship just in case. After checking the frequencies three times, this time she actively searches for news instead of only checking for specifically directed messages. There's a risk she could be detected, but it's a small one, and maybe she'll find out how Anelle is doing. 

Anelle is dead. 

Has been dead for a while, apparently. Lost her life in a big fight, a warrior. 

Ranex cries for a long time.

Then she sits up. So now it's just the two of them, and she's responsible for Teddy. Dorrek. Now that Anelle is dead literally nobody knows they're here, so they should be safe for a while. 

He's the heir of the Skrull empire, she reminds herself. One day he'll have to go back and shoulder the responsibility. He'll be a leader. 

But it's dangerous, and he's her son. He's much too young. When he's older, Sarah tells herself. In a few years he'll be old enough to understand. There's no need to burden him with all the pressure immediately; he should have a chance to live a normal life at least for a few more years. She'll tell him when he's ready. 

She doesn't visit the ship again. 

***

"Do you want to have coffee with me sometimes?" Natalie asks, and Sarah has no idea what to say. Natalie is asking her out. Somehow even the possibility has never entered her mind. But of course Natalie doesn't know that they're from different species – and even if she did, that doesn't necessarily mean anything, she just has to look at Teddy's parents…

Natalie coughs slightly, and Sarah startles. "I'm sorry! You surprised me."

"I noticed," she says, with a smile. She looks nice. Sarah doesn't know her very well, Natalie only joined their Pilates group a few months ago, but she's polite and quietly funny and said that she loves animals. Sarah isn't sure if that last bit is important: many people seem to think it is, but personally she's never developed a particular fondness for Earth animals. Fortunately Teddy never asked for a pet.

"Yes?" she finally says. "When do you suggest?"

They agree on a place and time. As soon as Sarah is home she calls Mary, because Lisa is on holiday and Mary loves that sort of gossip.

Mary is very excited. "Go for it! You've been single for far too long."

"It's not… It doesn't bother me."

"That's just because you don't know what you're missing. Promise me you'll at least give it a shot. And if you need Teddy out of the house for the evening…"

"No!" she protests, laughing. 

Mary makes her promise to wear something nice before she lets her end the call.

Sarah sighs and sits back on the couch. She's not lonely: she has Teddy, and she has her friends. If she starts dating… She'll never be able to tell any partner the truth about her, or Teddy. But she's quite comfortable in her human shape by now, and they probably wouldn't ever notice. Does she want a relationship like that, where she always has to lie to them?

It's not the first time Mary has implied that she should have sex, either, but the sex drive works differently for Skrulls than for humans. She's discovered masturbation, but she's only rarely in the mood. If she's dating anyone, would that be a problem? She feels weird imagining having sex with someone who only knows her with this body.

And Teddy is growing up. In a few years they'll have to leave. She gets the familiar knot of worry in her stomach at the thought. That wouldn't be fair to whoever she's dating. They might even be in danger, if someone ever discovers the identities they were hiding under. It's just not a good idea.

She has coffee with Natalie, but she's pretty sure Natalie notices that she's not comfortable. She almost feels sorry: she likes her, and if things were different she thinks she'd like to get to know her better. 

Instead she declines a second date as politely as possible. Natalie seems disappointed, but takes it well. (Later, Mary is possibly even more disappointed.)

***

Teddy finally invites her to a basketball game, after he deflected her not-so-subtle hints for months. It's true that she's not a big sports fan, but how can she not want to see her son play? She's happy he's found something that he enjoys doing with other people. He's started talking about basketball a lot since his latest growth spurt. (He started dying his hair dark at the same time and she half-jokingly wondered if it was a team thing.) 

Sarah knows enough to see that he's a good player, not the fastest but strong and sure. If he lived among the Skrull - or even worse, the Kree - he'd have started warrior training years ago. For a moment she's extremely glad that he's growing up on Earth.

When they'll return to the Skrull Empire she'll get someone to teach him Skrull sports, maybe he'll enjoy it. There's usually more than one ball on the field.

Teddy's team scores and Sarah stands up and cheers together with everyone else in her section. 

***

Sarah is having a bad week. Her last project at work fell through, the discussion with her boss didn't go well, and the next day she lost one of her favorite earrings. When she comes home on Friday, later than she wanted to, she's really not in the mood to cook, even though delivery always takes ages. 

She snapped at Teddy yesterday because he left a mess in the kitchen. She still needs to apologize for that, but he's probably out with his friends like most weekends. She's glad he has friends, even if she hasn't met them yet. He's probably having more fun than he would have hanging out with his cranky mother, she thinks ruefully. Still, maybe she can persuade him to go on a day trip again one of these days, just the two of them. That would be nice. 

After the second glass of wine Sarah starts laughing at herself. Here she is, complaining about trivial things, when she used to talk with Anelle about the future of an empire and the fate of the galaxy. How far she's come.

But she doesn't miss it. This is good, too. 

***

Teddy's in love, and it's adorable. She's not sure if she's supposed to know, but they're very bad at hiding. That he brought Billy over for dinner at all was the first clue, and it's very obvious how they're looking at each other. Billy seems like a nice kid, and from how much more Teddy is smiling these days it's clear that he's good for Teddy. 

She briefly wonders if Billy is part of the reason why Teddy stopped playing basketball. He never really gave her an explanation for that. And she suspects that Teddy got his new ear piercings partially to impress his boyfriend. But Sarah doesn't mind: if he makes her son this happy she hopes he stays for a long time.

For a brief second she thinks about Skrull imperial dating conventions – but fuck that, she thinks, surprising herself with her vehemence. Let Teddy enjoy his life for now. If they're still together then (and watching them she thinks they will be) they'll have to figure something out soon enough.

Billy is a nerd, she finds out when she walks in on an animated discussion about which superheroes would be sorted into which Hogwarts house. See, she doesn't say, I knew you'd find friends with the same interests. She hopes it helps Teddy feel like he belongs.

***

She only turns the radio on because she's bored. 

"…nobody is hurt. We repeat, the Super-Skrull has been seen in New York…" 

For a moment Sarah panics. They've been found, they've been discovered - why else would Kl'rt be in New York? Is Teddy okay? 

She clenches her fists and takes a deep breath. The internet forums she regularly frequents have rumored for years that Kl'rt is hiding on Earth; she never knew whether or not to believe it. He could be in New York for unrelated reasons. It's unlikely, yes… but the radio is saying that nobody has been hurt or kidnapped, so maybe…

She's already calling Teddy, but he doesn't pick up his phone. That doesn't mean anything, she tells herself. He could have turned it off, or run out of battery, or anything. She doesn't know where he was planning to go, just that he is meeting his friends. 

He's probably with Billy. Sarah calls Mrs. Kaplan, extremely grateful that she insisted on getting her number when Billy asked if he could stay late a week ago. 

Mrs. Kaplan doesn't know where they are either, but says that she expects they'll drop by soon because she's making pie. She promptly invites Sarah over when she lets her voice become higher, speaks faster – it doesn't take much.

Sarah takes her Skrull gun out of the safe and drives as fast as she can. Her phone dies on the way and she curses unreliable Earth technology.

"I'm sure they're okay," Mrs. Kaplan – "call me Rebecca" – says in a voice that's clearly meant to be calming.

Sarah wonders if she comes across as slightly crazy. There's barely a month in New York without at least one supervillain appearance, and most people have become accustomed to it. She doesn't care. Even if Kl'rt is here for a different reason, or if he hasn't found Teddy yet, they're in danger. They're going to have to get away. She's already calculated the quickest route to get to their ship. They can hide out there, but if Kl'rt stays on Earth somewhere else on the planet won't be far or safe enough. They'll have to try and get to another planet, start over with new identities and new lives. Teddy will miss Earth – so will she – but it's more important that he survives. (A part of her wonders if she's overreacting, but as humans say, better safe than sorry.)

"Why don't I make us a cup of tea?" Rebecca offers and walks into the kitchen.

Sarah listens to the live report on the radio: apparently some superheroes showed up, fought Kl'rt and temporarily knocked him out, but he disappeared shortly afterwards. That won't stop him for long. 

The reporter is just repeating himself now. She looks around, trying not to fidget. It won't help anyone if she becomes nervous now. She has to keep it together, has to keep Teddy safe.

There's a stack of newspapers and magazines on the living room table. Sarah absent-mindedly leaves through them. There are a few psychology journals mixed in, the Daily Bugle… 

She stops at an issue of the Daily Bugle from a little over a week ago. The headline is about the Young Avengers apprehending the Shocker robbing a bank. She's heard of them, of course, but she quickly classified them as "most likely not a threat" and hasn't kept track of them. There are so many superheroes in New York, sometimes changing so quickly, it's almost impossible to remember all of them. The Young Avengers look a bit different than in the early pictures: their Hulk junior now has blond hair, she thinks it used to be black. Sarah idly wonders which hairdresser a mutant would choose to bleach his hair. There's something bugging her about his appearance, she can't quite put her finger on it…

It's the earrings, she realizes suddenly. The picture is big enough that it shows his five silver earrings. And he's blond, and instead of a mutant he could be… "Oh gods, Teddy," she whispers.

Of course it's Teddy: now she recognizes his face. For a brief shocked moment she wonders where he got the costume from. The flying mage with the black hair must be Billy, then, and the others Eli and Cassie. Nate must have been Iron Lad: Teddy told her his parents moved. Sarah wonders what happened to him.

Teddy found out, and he's become a superhero. Like his parents. She thinks she should be terrified, and she is, but at the same time she's so proud she feels like her ribcage is expanding. (She's not sure it isn't, and she hasn't shifted in years.) Her brave, beautiful, amazing boy.

She'll explain everything, as soon as she sees him again. She'll finally tell him about his parents, tell him the truth about herself, show him the ship they arrived in. She'll tell him how proud of him she is. She hopes that he'll forgive her, and that he'll tell her what he's really been doing, and let her do everything she can to support him.

The doorbell rings.


End file.
